Edith Cowan University (ECU) has welcomed Australia’s top cybersecurity experts to Perth to discuss how Australians can be protected from cyber threats.
According to a recent press release, sixty of the nation’s brightest cybersecurity minds descended in Perth for the Cyber 2020 Forum, which is part of Australia’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy.
Delegates joined in high-level strategy discussions designed to keep government, businesses and families safe online.
This opportunity to have a robust debate with the best and brightest is essential as they know best on how to predict, protect and detect threats against individuals, businesses and critical infrastructure.
This requires close collaboration between industry, government and the research sector.
Background
Department of Home Affairs Secretary, Mr Michael Pezzullo, shared that the magnitude of the digital threats faced by Australians has increased.
They will become more acute as society and economy become increasingly connected. As the threat evolves, so too must the response.
Cybercrime is a growing cost to the Australian economy, with the overall impact on businesses estimated to be in the billions of dollars every year.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Chapman highlighted that it was vital that Australia stayed ahead of the curve on cyber.
ECU is home to the $140 million-dollar Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, a collaboration between industry, government and the research sector.
It served as a perfect venue for the Cyber 2020 Forum.
The University hosted the event alongside the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Head of Australia’s Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, Rachael Falk, explained that the Cyber 2020 Forum was critical to ensuring the government can meet the challenges of the digital age.
About Cyber 2020
- The Cyber 2020 Forum will assist the government in the creation of a new national cyber strategy, which will be the successor to the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy.
- Follow up public consultations on the Cyber Security Strategy are being held across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
- The Perth forum will focus on four themes including emerging cyber threats and vulnerabilities and how best to build cyber skills in the economy.
- Secretary Pezzullo added that the Forum has set the tone for a series of thought-provoking discussions among leaders of industry, academia and government on how to best place Australia to meet the challenges and reap the benefits of the online environment.
- One of those challenges is the skills shortage in the cybersecurity sector. It is expected that over the next decade, Australia will need more than 60,000 skilled professionals to fill the looming employment gap in the cybersecurity industry.
- Edith Cowan University is one of only two Australian universities recognised by the Australian Federal Government as an Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence (ACCSE) to address the national shortage of highly skilled cybersecurity professionals.
Addressing Cybersecurity Across the Globe
Addressing cybersecurity issues is a growing need for countries and they have responded with their own initiatives, which OpenGov Asia had reported previously.
Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), in collaboration with two leading cybersecurity organisations, organised the Open Forum: Information Security Knowledge Sharing Series III.
The aim of the event was to share knowledge and inform attendees of the updates and new technology trends related to cybersecurity. Experts delved into various threats types and ways to prevent them.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau is encouraging public and private sector leaders to get more connected with the cybersecurity governance of their organisations.
The Bureau’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has produced a resource for boards to help improve cybersecurity governance.
The NCSC study involved interviews with cybersecurity professionals from 250 of New Zealand’s nationally significant organisations and was able to assess cybersecurity resilience using measures drawn from a range of security frameworks.
